It’s homecoming at Vicksburg High tonight and coach Alonzo Stevens says his team is pumped up.

The fact that his Gators (5-4, 2-3) face a must-win situation against visiting Murrah (3-5, 1-4) to remain alive for a 5A playoff berth, doesn’t worry him.

&#8220We’re looking forward to a great homecoming. The enthusiasm the team has shown this week has been great,” Stevens said.

Homecoming games have not been kind to the Gators over the years and last year was a prime example as Madison Central came in and trashed Vicksburg’s celebration with a 32-0 loss.

&#8220We just got our butt whipped last year,” Stevens said.

About a month ago, Murrah looked just like the type of homecoming foe the Gators would want. But things have changed for the Mustangs in the last two games.

Coach Malcom Jones’ team gave Warren Central fits on its homecoming game, dominating the play clock with lengthy drives. But a 93-yard interception return by Michael Holt helped the Vikings survive with a 16-0 win.

Then last week, Murrah surprised Jackson rival Provine, 34-13. The result, however, helped Vicksburg in that it keeps them tied with Provine at 2-3 in the Region 2-5A.

&#8220They can throw the football and we’re going to have to play heads-up football,” Stevens said. &#8220But our biggest thing is to stay away from turnovers.”

The turnover bug has bothered Vicksburg all season. They lost four last week and that directly to Madison Central coming away with a 28-0 win in Madison.

&#8220We put them on a short field. The defense has been tremendous but we can’t keep putting them in a tough situation,” Stevens said. &#8220We’ve got a good punter. We can play field position, but we can’t keep turning the ball over.”

Murrah is led by running back Dujuon Cameron, who had 100 yards rushing and a touchdown against Provine last week. Wide receiver Chris Powell caught six passes for 105 yards and four scores in Murrah’s spread offense.

&#8220We’ve been making gradual improvement as the season’s gone on,” Jones said. &#8220From where we started this season, to now, it’s like night and day.”

Vicksburg’s offense is paced by a pair of talented receivers in Delmon Robinson and Vernon Wolfe. Robinson leads the area’s wideouts with 28 catches for 397 yards. Wolfe is second with 22 for 299 yards.

Quarterback Stanton Price has completed 65 of 146 for 829 yards. But he has thrown 13 interceptions, including three last week.

The Gator defense is led by defensive back Willis McGowan with six interceptions and six fumble recoveries.